ABOUT THE FILM

The Battle of Algiers (1966)

Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo

Starring Brahim Hadjadj, Jean Martin and Yacef Saadi

GUEST SPEAKER

The film will be introduced and given context by Peter Rainey, an SMSA member and cinema enthusiast, who returns to an earlier passion for films as a Programme Director for a Queensland Cinema Group, now that he has retired after 40 years in the education profession.

Pontecorvo’s Battle of Algiers

Acknowledged as a masterpiece, The Battle of Algiers tells the story of the bloody Algerian war for independence from the colonial rule of France.

The French foreign legion has left Vietnam in defeat and has something to prove. The Algerians are seeking independence. The two clash. The torture used by the French is contrasted with the Algerian’s use of bombs in soda shops. The Battle of Algiers looks at war as a nasty thing that harms and sullies everyone who participates in it.

Somewhat ironically, the Pentagon, Black Panthers and IRA all studied the film to learn how to fight (or wage, as the case may be) an insurgency. The Battle of Algiers serves as a reminder that fiction can give insights and ʻtruthʼ.